Apple cracks top-10 server brands during first quarter

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Apple Inc. during the first quarter of 2007 broke into the top-10 server brands with its Xserve line, stepping over China-based Langchao, which fell from the rankings, according to the latest data from market research firm IDC.



The IDC report, cited by DigiTimes, indicates that Acer, Hitachi and Apple took eighth, ninth and tenth position with shipments of 14,900, 9,000 and 8,700 units, and on-quarter shipments growth of 5 percent, 26 percent and 73 percent, respectively.



Hitachi replaced China-based Lenovo, which joined Langchao in falling out of the top 10, according to the report.



Overall, worldwide server shipments in first quarter declined 11 percent on a quarterly basis as shipments from Dell and IBM -- ranked second and third -- fell 3 percent and 17 percent, respectively.



Seasonal effects, Intel's schedule to cut CPU prices in July, and AMD's plans to launch its native quad-core processor (Barcelona) in the second half of 2007 are all reported to have contributed to the drop in shipments.



Apple's launching of its fifth generation Xserve with Intel Dual Core Xeon processors is said to have boosted its growth in the server sector, as several enterprises began adopting the Mac-based enterprise machines.



Although Lenovo and Langchao did not list in the top-10 brands in first quarter 2007, their shipments still held level compared to the previous quarter, according to DigiTimes' sources. Those sources added that the reason Hitachi and Apple surpassed the China-based makers was due to their large on-quarter shipment growth.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 59
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Way to go Apple. Now hit the top 5
  • Reply 2 of 59
    mactelmactel Posts: 1,275member
    It is good to see Apple is still in the game at all. Apple doesn't disclose the number of Xserves sold per quarter so it has been difficult to gauge their acceptance in this market segment. If they're growing as IDC states then that'll just spur further growth. I'm more interested now, by this news, to purchase Xserves than previously.
  • Reply 3 of 59
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Leopard's new server tools will help push Apple even farther ahead in this market.



    Oh yeah, my stock will be arising.
  • Reply 4 of 59
    bigpicsbigpics Posts: 1,397member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacTel View Post


    It is good to see Apple is still in the game at all. Apple doesn't disclose the number of Xserves sold per quarter so it has been difficult to gauge their acceptance in this market segment. If they're growing as IDC states then that'll just spur further growth. I'm more interested now, by this news, to purchase Xserves than previously.



    It's also good to see posters on this thread who get the importance of the story.



    Apple clearly gets it, as they've stuck with this market for years, regularly dedicating enough resources to keep redesigning and refreshing their servers despite shipments which sound minuscule next the rest of the product line.



    10's of millions of iPods, millions of Macs and... ...thousands of Xserves. I'm too lazy to do the math, but Apple probably sells more iPods in say, an hour, than Xserves in a year.



    But a small shop that decides to go all Apple may buy 3-4 Xserves -- and a hundred or more Macs they probably would not have otherwise. And who knows in the future, may add maybe several hundred iPhones. And the same thing may happen in larger shops which decide to experiment with Apple in a division or a location, or say, for their graphics, video and sound guys as opposed to their Excel addicted bean counters and Word-bound marketing mavens (who could end up running Mac Office at a later date once the Xserve has a foothold in their companies).



    Further, if future (or current?) Xserves can virtualize Windows Vista Server and Leopard Server in interesting ways, businesses that have avoided Macs altogether to simplify their IT operations may take a new look, allowing Macs to actually enter those businesses in small but growing numbers.



    So there are reasons -- and reasons strategic to the overall "Apple icology" why even during the leaner years this initiative remained alive and mostly well in Cupertino.



    And why even game-addicted fan boys should pay at least a modicum of attention to this oft-overlooked part of the skunk works at Infinite Loop.
  • Reply 5 of 59
    feynmanfeynman Posts: 1,087member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Leopard's new server tools will help push Apple even farther ahead in this market.



    Oh yeah, my stock will be arising.



    Are you basing this on something you know but we don't?
  • Reply 6 of 59
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Feynman View Post


    Are you basing this on something you know but we don't?



    Peruse the Apple's Leopard Sneek Peek site for some info.
  • Reply 7 of 59
    abster2coreabster2core Posts: 2,501member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Feynman View Post


    Are you basing this on something you know but we don't?



    Probably based on something that most are not aware of, i.e., Leopard Server, at http://www.apple.com/server/macosx/leopard/ and many are looking forward to.
  • Reply 8 of 59
    e1618978e1618978 Posts: 6,075member
    The best thing in the article is the 73% growth rate for xserve, they are bound to move up the list quickly.



    Looking at www.top500.org, I am a bit surprised that other supercomputer facilities did not follow Virginia Tech's and COLSA's lead in using xserve, since their facility was so much cheaper than other installations with similar performance (and that was with the G4 xserve).
  • Reply 9 of 59
    the pie manthe pie man Posts: 425member
    Is that correct? Apple is in 10th place, with 8700 units shipped for the quarter? That sure doesn't sound like something to be bragging about.
  • Reply 10 of 59
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by The Pie Man View Post


    Is that correct? Apple is in 10th place, with 8700 units shipped for the quarter? That sure doesn't sound like something to be bragging about.



    As bigpics points out, when you compare to the number Apple's other hardware sales it doesn't look impressive at all. And, without perspective, I'd day that >8,000 servers seems very small for a quarter, especially considering that it's a 73% gain over the previous quarter.



    The real story here is that Apple is gaining marketshare while others are losing it, and that Apple is finally on the radar as the 10th largest server distributor. Unless Hitachi is on an equally impressive growth spurt then it looks like Apple is destined to rank #9 next quarter. If they happen to continue this 73% growth rate it will edge out the current #8 manufacturer. Will Apple do it? I know no clue, but I do know that this news is good for Apple's server solutions.



    I wonder how many Xserves are in use today, including Apple's? I wonder they compare to other rack servers in terms of useful life-cycle.
  • Reply 11 of 59
    eruithildureruithildur Posts: 165member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bigpics View Post




    Further, if future (or current?) Xserves can virtualize Windows Vista Server and Leopard Server in interesting ways, businesses that have avoided Macs altogether to simplify their IT operations may take a new look, allowing Macs to actually enter those businesses in small but growing numbers.



    Well there is no Vista server to my knowledge and Longhorn isn't out yet, but Parallels is able to virtualize Windows servers, we do it here.
  • Reply 12 of 59
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by EruIthildur View Post


    Well there is no Vista server to my knowledge and Longhorn isn't out yet, but Parallels is able to virtualize Windows servers, we do it here.



    There will likely never be a "Vista" server as Windows Server 2008 is the name of the beta OS being readied for release. As for longhorn, that was just a code name for Vista prior to release.
  • Reply 13 of 59
    ajhillajhill Posts: 81member
    Can Apple do no wrong in any of their profit centers?



    Talk about hitting on all cylinders.
  • Reply 14 of 59
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    The fact that Apple's server software can't virtualize OS X instances on servers keeps it out of many large shops. It's difficulty of integration with Exchange is another reason. Problems with Hp Openview, and EMC storage-area networks are others.



    If Apple could solve those problems, they would find their servers selling much better in mixed environments.



    There are other shortcomings as well. Apple doesn't give a roadmap of what it will be doing as all other players in these markets do. That's a problem for many medium and large firms.



    Apple is very focused on small shops. that won't do if they want to triple their sales numbers here, or move into the fifth spot as someone just said they would like to see Apple do.
  • Reply 15 of 59
    aisiaisi Posts: 134member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by e1618978 View Post


    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Apple Inc. during the first quarter of 2007 broke into the top-10 server brands with its Xserve line. The IDC report, cited by DigiTimes, indicates that Apple took tenth position with shipments of 8,700 units, and on-quarter shipments growth of 73 percent.



    The best thing in the article is the 73% growth rate for xserve, they are bound to move up the list quickly.



    I don't think they will move up the list quickly. Not that it matters much because Apple has a long-term approach and the Xserve (and Raid) is a "must have" offering for Apple in this segment for research, video, etc, whatever the sales figures.



    As a comparison, Apple sold 6,000 Xserves in Oct-Dec 2002. (Apple conference call)



    5,000 to 6,000 units throughout each quarter of 2003. Sales slumped to a low of 4,412 in Q1 2004 and doubled after a price drop. (Gartner)



    13,000 Xserves sold in April-June 2004. (Apple conference call)



    In the third quarter of 2004 Apple was already in the Top 10 according to Gartner, growing 119 percent from the year-ago quarter [from about 6,000 to 13,000 units?]. "Analysts [expected] triple digit growth for the Xserve could continue into 2006 before it levels off." The top ten list was as follows: HP, Dell, IBM, Sun, Fujitsu, NEC, Acer, Apple [8th], Legend and LangChao.



    In the first quarter of 2005 Xserve shipments were 7,700 according to Gartner.



    ~5,000 Xserves sold in Q4 2006, since?



    8,700 units in Q1 2007 (IDC) with quarter-on-quarter shipments growth of 73 percent.
  • Reply 16 of 59
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by e1618978 View Post


    The best thing in the article is the 73% growth rate for xserve, they are bound to move up the list quickly.



    Looking at www.top500.org, I am a bit surprised that other supercomputer facilities did not follow Virginia Tech's and COLSA's lead in using xserve, since their facility was so much cheaper than other installations with similar performance (and that was with the G4 xserve).



    VT used G5s XServe machines after they used G5 PowerMacs for a while.
  • Reply 17 of 59
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AISI View Post


    I don't think they will move up the list quickly. Not that it matters much because Apple has a long-term approach and the Xserve (and Raid) is a "must have" offering for Apple in this segment for research, video, etc, whatever the sales figures.



    As a comparison, Apple sold 6,000 Xserves in Oct-Dec 2002. (Apple conference call)



    5,000 to 6,000 units throughout each quarter of 2003. Sales slumped to a low of 4,412 in Q1 2004 and doubled after a price drop. (Gartner)



    13,000 Xserves sold in April-June 2004. (Apple conference call)



    In the third quarter of 2004 Apple was already in the Top 10 according to Gartner, growing 119 percent from the year-ago quarter [from about 6,000 to 13,000 units?]. "Analysts [expected] triple digit growth for the Xserve could continue into 2006 before it levels off." The top ten list was as follows: HP, Dell, IBM, Sun, Fujitsu, NEC, Acer, Apple [8th], Legend and LangChao.



    In the first quarter of 2005 Xserve shipments were 7,700 according to Gartner.



    ~5,000 Xserves sold in Q4 2006, since?



    8,700 units in Q1 2007 (IDC) with quarter-on-quarter shipments growth of 73 percent.



    Right. Until Apple fixes the problems I mentioned, their sales will never penetrate high up in the listings.
  • Reply 18 of 59
    mynameheremynamehere Posts: 560member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bigpics View Post


    It's also good to see posters on this thread who get the importance of the story.



    Apple clearly gets it, as they've stuck with this market for years, regularly dedicating enough resources to keep redesigning and refreshing their servers despite shipments which sound minuscule next the rest of the product line.



    10's of millions of iPods, millions of Macs and... ...thousands of Xserves. I'm too lazy to do the math, but Apple probably sells more iPods in say, an hour, than Xserves in a year.



    You could also buy many, many iPods for the cost of 1 XServe.



    I'm trying to get funding for an XServe and XServe RAID with Final Cut Server for our campus TV station...
  • Reply 19 of 59
    tinktink Posts: 395member
    http://www.microsoft.com/winme/0705/...ing_HD_MBR.asx

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    uhh,

    ..... ya. That about sums it up.



    (Sorry that was off Topic).

    Cracking top ten is pretty cool, though!
  • Reply 20 of 59
    besson3cbesson3c Posts: 27member
    If Apple really wants to attract large businesses/enterprise, OS X Server is in needs of some changes. As of right now, it's pretty much a non-player.



    In complicated environments where there is a tremendous amount of burearacy surrounding interdepartmental data flow, Apple GUIs in and of themselves offer little to no compelling reason to buy OS X Server since they can't really be used, for the most part, unless the workflow matches what Apple designed.



    While you can quit Aqua, there is little compelling reason to run OS X sans Aqua when there are several other CLI focused Unix OSes that offer a richer CLI environment with OSS package management, a variety of file systems, a kernel that can be optimized and still supported, a more transparent roadmap, rich community support that will take you beyond the comfortable Apple bubble, better OSS support/ease of software compilation/installation, more hardware support, etc.



    I've heard arguments that XServe hardware and OS X Server make an inexpensive combo... This may or may not be true, but the question is: how big is the small business market, and will Apple succeeding in this market make a big difference?
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